Things Fall Apart is generally seen as Achebe's way of taking back Africa from Joseph Conrad and Heart of Darkness. More than that, it's Achebe's way of talking back to Conrad about Africa.
The novel focuses on the Igbo people in the years leading up to the arrival of the first Christian missionaries—it follows Okonkwo, a respected member of the tribe, as he builds up his reputation; knocks it down again with some accidental murders; loves, raises, and kills an adoptive son; and is exiled for killing a different boy. Basically, we get to see the ins and outs of pre-colonized Africa and get a hint of what's to come when the missionaries show up.
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